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| Government | |
| Donald Trump lifts ban on military gear for police | |
| 2017-08-29 | |
US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... 's on Monday signed an executive order reviving a program to provide surplus military hardware to local police departments across America. His signature reverses a directive signed in 2015 by former President Barack Obama I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money... that severely restricted police force access to military gear such as grenade launchers, bullet-proof vests, riot shields, guns and ammunition. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Trump's decision to loud applause at a national convention of the Fratenity Order of Police in Nashville, Tennessee. Obama had reinstated the ban on surplus high-caliber weapons, armored vehicles and other heavy equipment for local police departments following public outcry over the militarized response in 2014 to rioters in Ferguson, Missouri, and the police shooting of an unarmed black man. Sessions told Fratenity police members the new arrangement would "ensure that you can get the lifesaving gear that you need to do your job and send a strong message that will will not allow criminal activity, violence and lawlessness to become a new normal." The newspaper USA Today said the new order would fully restore the program to recycle surplus equipment from the Department of Defense, and fully restore grants used to purchase such equipment "from other sources." Police departments only had to pay for transport costs under the controversial program USA Today and the New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... , referring to a Trump administration briefing, cited two academic articles that claimed that the program was "defensive" in nature and had reduced crime rates and did not increase deaths involving police. The so-called 1033 program began in 1990 as a way to funnel surplus equipment from the Department of Defense to anti-drug police, but was expanded in 1997 to wider police departments. The White House found that the program allowed the transfer for $5.4 billion (4.5 billion euros) of equipment to police departments, who only paid for transport costs. The new briefing paper said the decision to restore the program "represents a policy shift toward ensuring officers have the tools they need to reduce crime and keep their communities safe. It sends the message that we care more about public safety than about how a piece of equipment looks, especially when that equipment has been shown to reduce crime, reduce complaints against and assaults on police, and makes officers more effective," as quoted by Washington Post. Obama's move led to the recall of at least 100 grenade launchers, more than 1,600 bayonets and 126 tracked vehicles. | |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #4 I'm conflicted. Would like to see the LoA's, assuming they exist, stipulating under what conditions the equipment could be used. It may come in very handy close to the next election. (Slightly) OT: I at one time lived a few miles off (USAF) base for a while and one day heard a hell of a racket outside. Looked out the window and saw three honest-to-G*d APC's rumbling down the (civilian) street. Got my undivided attention real fast. |
| Posted by: Anomalous Sources 2017-08-29 19:58 |
| #3 When the Schit hits the fan |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2017-08-29 17:47 |
| #2 I am more worried about SWAT teams doing "kindler and gentler" nicht und nebel raids at 3AM becoming a standard feature of police behavior. |
| Posted by: magpie 2017-08-29 12:55 |
| #1 This is a very bad idea. |
| Posted by: Thravimp Lover of the Antelope7006 2017-08-29 09:17 |